Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nash
“ H ey, Rocky.” The dog met me at the door. He hated being home alone at night, and I hated to leave him. Tonight had been a top-to-bottom disappointment. It had started with Bosco and me getting into it about something stupid—where to set the drums and keyboard on the stage. For a brief moment, it seemed we’d patched up our differences, and I thought breaking up the band might actually work in favor of our friendship. We’d have no more reasons to argue. But it seemed I’d been imagining the truce between us. The tension was just as abrasive as ever, and after seeing the women coming around the corner, Bosco stopped talking to me for the rest of the night, not exactly ideal when we were playing as a group.
I gave Rocky a treat. Sensing that I was home for the night, he took himself off to bed. Layla’s visit had been the other rough part of the evening, which was especially crummy because it should have been the opposite. Even with our pretend act. Something was wrong, but because of our act , I couldn’t ask her what it was. I spotted her in the audience during the first set, but never saw her again.
One set blurred into the next. The bar was crowded, the lights hot and the air grew thick with the smell of people and beer. During breaks, the four of us hardly looked at one another. It was the kind of heavy silence, slightly tinged with anger and that grim feeling of failure, that could be expected with the breakup of a band. We knew it was all coming to an end, and not a great one at that. Sales were down, and the four of us had drifted apart creatively, socially and in every way necessary for a group to be cohesive and successful.
I landed on the couch with a thud. It had been a long night, but I was always far too wired after a gig to fall asleep. I glanced at my guitar. It had been with me since I bought it from a pawn shop right after high school. At the time I bought it, I had no idea of its value. I knew it was worth good money after I’d had more than one offer to buy the thing after playing for parties and in small dives.
A light knock on the door made me sit up straighter. I knew the knock. I hurried to the door. When I’d returned home, there was only one dim light on in Layla’s cottage, so I figured she was fast asleep, and all my worry would have to wait until morning.
I pulled open the door. Layla was wearing sweatpants, flip-flops and a white tank top. “Excuse my attire,” she said. “I fell asleep on the couch, and then your headlights swept through the house and I woke up.”
“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Am I your ‘newest conquest’?” The words shot out so fast it took me a second to decipher them.
“What? My newest conquest?” As I said it, the tension-filled moment with Bosco came back to me.
“God, Layla, not in a million years. Come inside.”
“I can’t stay long because my dreams are waiting for me back at the cottage. You weren’t in any of them tonight, but that’s not to say you haven’t been the star in several of them recently.”
I took her hand and pulled her inside. “That was just Bosco, being Bosco.”
She turned around. “I thought the two of you patched things up.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. The guitar strap always irritated it during a show. “Yeah, I thought so, too. I’m not like that. I’m not into conquests. That’s Bosco’s territory. He was just lashing out at me because he asked you for your phone number, and you turned him down.”
Layla pressed her fingers to her chin. “Did I?” She winced. “You’re right. I did. That guy comes on strong.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve tried to tell him that, but it only made him angry. I guess it’s true that sometimes you grow out of a friendship. Even with all the history we share, Bosco and I just don’t seem to work anymore.”
Layla tucked her hair behind her ear. It was messy and ruffled from sleeping, and every inch of her was adorable. “Sometimes I feel like that’s happening between Emily and me. We have a lot of history together, too. She was mad at me tonight because I pulled her away from you too fast. I was feeling so uncomfortable about the whole thing, and then, well, I had a bee in my bonnet, as Nonna used to say. Bosco’s words worried me.”
I walked over to her and took her into my arms. She snuggled instantly against me. “You are not a conquest. You’re a triumph.”
She started vibrating in my arms with a giggle.
“Too cheesy?” I asked.
“Like blue cheese, cheddar and pepper jack all rolled into one.” She lifted her face and peered up at me. “Oh, wow. I always forget how gorgeous you are. I take back the cheesy thing. You can say it again. I think it’ll be less cheesy if I watch you saying it.”
I shook my head. “Nope, moment is ruined.” I leaned down and kissed her.
Layla was still peering up at me with that amazing brown gaze as I lifted my mouth from hers. She reached up and touched my face, something she did a lot and something I was growing to love. “See, you should have started with that,” she said in a near whisper.
I kissed her again. The clip-clop of heavy paws came tramping down the hallway.
Layla pulled out of my arms. “There you are. I was trying not to feel hurt that you didn’t greet me at the door.” She crouched down to hug Rocky for a second. “There, I feel better now. I can go home with Rocky smell all over me.”
“Trying not to feel majorly hurt by that,” I said and pulled her back into my arms. I couldn’t get enough of holding her. “What happened to you tonight? I didn’t see you after the first set. Couldn’t stand the hoarse, nasal-y sound of the lead singer?”
“Actually, he was about the only good part of the night. It was so crowded in there. Are you sure the band should break up? You’ve got some really rabid fans. My best friend included. She tried three times to get closer to the stage and returned to me at the back of the bar each time with a grumpy pout and new bruises.”
I dropped my arms, took her hand and led her to the couch. “I’ve gone back and forth about this whole breakup many times in my head, and I always come to the same conclusion. It’s over.”
“Emily will be devastated, and I can tell you having to hold all these secrets from my friend might just be the death of me.” She rubbed her stomach. “I feel like I swallowed a bagel whole, and it’s just sitting in my belly.”
I pushed the hair back off her face. “A bagel?”
“It’s the only thing I could think of. Sometimes being in your presence makes me lightheaded.”
“I feel the same way, Layla. I think Ronnie’s going to post the announcement about the breakup after our last show at Comstock. That might help with that bagel, but the other secret—well—that’s up to you.”
“I know. And honestly, Emi was being so grouchy on the way to the bar I almost just blurted it out. Then I chickened out because clearly, I don’t mind having a whole bagel sitting in my stomach. Oh Nash, can this work? I really want it to work.”
“Me too, and yeah, I think it can work. Like I said—we’ll cross bridges when we get to them.”
Layla covered her mouth to stifle a yawn.
I chuckled. “And just like you preferring to go home smelling like Rocky, I’ll try not to be too insulted that I bore you into a series of yawns every time you visit.”
Layla covered her face. “I’m so embarrassed …” She lowered her hands. “And tired. It’s the story of my life now that I’m up at dawn to work at the bakery.”
I stood up and offered her my hand. “Let me walk you home, sleepy. I know it’s been a long day.”
Layla put her hand in mine, and I helped her to her feet. “Gosh, will this be our whole dating life? Walking Rocky and you walking me home after I embarrass myself with a plethora of uncontrollable yawns?”
I looked over at her as we stepped into the cool night air. It was a clear night with thousands of stars hanging overhead. “Is there such thing as a controllable yawn?”
She thought about it on the way across the yard. “I don’t know. Good question. I’ll have to try it sometime. And the worst part about it is I look like a hungry baby bird when I yawn. At least that is what my sisters used to tell me when we were young.”
We reached her door. “An adorable baby bird,” I said.
This time I didn’t need to reach for her. She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you, again, for walking me home, and next time we meet I’ll try to be more rested.”
“I was hoping we could see each other tomorrow. I’ve got a meeting with the rest of the band in the morning at their rental house. We’ve got lots of details to work out for shutting everything down. It’s technically a business. ‘Band’ just sounds way cooler.”
“I don’t think you’d have as many fans if you were lead singer of a business. I’m going on a bike ride in the morning, so I guess after you get back, we can get together.”
“Sounds good.” I kissed her. “Sleep tight and I hope I’m in a few of those dreams.”
“Oh, I think you will be, Mr. Ledger.” She opened her door, turned and blew a kiss before disappearing inside.
I headed back across. I’d decided to record my new song and post it on social media for the heck of it. I was wide awake still, so tonight seemed as good a time as any. I’d tell the band about it in the morning. I looked back at Layla’s cottage before shutting my door. Rocky barked once.
“Yep, buddy, I’ve got it bad, too.”